If someone were to write a book on how to win elections and influence electors, then the BJP can offer a lesson or two. The party’s strategy to woo the OBC communities in Maharashtra and tide over the strong anti-incumbency mood there is the latest such example.
The saffron party can polarise if it works; it can reverse-polarise if it works, too. It may sound simple but the fact is that it needs a thorough understanding of the ground realities. The party had found itself in a hopeless position when it came to attracting Jat votes in Haryana, so it chose to go after the non-Jat OBC votes in the state which recently held Assembly elections. The high-risk experiment was aided by an arrogant and over-confident Congress and the results surprised even the BJP when it, for the first time, won a majority on its own against all odds and opinion polls.
The party is taking the same formula over to the western state: To bring in the OBCs, the mainstay of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP combine is running against popular disenchantment which was, like in Haryana, reflected in the Lok Sabha elections. Maharashtra is too crucial an election for the saffron combine to lose as the state hosts the financial capital of the country and sends the second largest contingent of members to the Rajya Sabha. The Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP (SP) have proved themselves to be more than equal to the Election Commission-recognised parent parties; both of them are waiting to settle their scores in the Assembly elections. It must be smart election engineering like what was employed in Haryana that can help the NDA sail through in the state. The party is on the job now.
As it stands today, the MVA has managed to stay together, some glitches notwithstanding. It is up to the Congress and the allies to decide if wants a repeat of Haryana in Maharashtra.
